Rep. Bentz introduces bill for Juniper Canyon secondary access land in Crook County
Ongoing efforts to build a secondary access road for Juniper Canyon outside Prineville got a major boost as new legislation was introduced in Congress on Monday.
A secondary access for the rural properties where more than a thousand people live has been a major priority of Crook County for the past several years, especially after a dangerous wildfire put homes and lives at risk in 2025.
Under the bill, the Department of the Interior would grant Crook County an 80-foot-wide permanent right of way connecting Paulina Highway to Juniper Canyon Road for the construction of a new public roadway. Funding will remain a major hurdle, but finding a route and getting it shovel-ready would make such a project more likely to come to fruition.
County leaders worked with U.S. Rep Cliff Bentz, who represents Oregon’s Second Congressional District. Bentz recently introduced to grant Crook County a permanent right of way for the construction of a new public access road in Juniper Canyon. It would also c…